We’d like to give a grateful shout-out to music teachers Dave Ruggiero (known affectionately as Mr. R) and Scott Tarantino. For the past several years, these inspirational men have organized a marimba concert to benefit C4C. Between donations at the door and the sale of wire crafts, this year’s concert raised almost $700.

During the concert, musicians, some as young as fifth grade, wore silly hats and took turns playing marimbas of various sizes with gusto. By whacking mallets against wooden bars, they produced a melody that made it difficult to sit still. Many concert-goers were impressed that the performers did not have music stands or any papers in front of them. Instead, they watched, listened and followed one another’s subtle cues, which was a great reminder of how we should do more things in life.

We’d also like to thank Sharon marimba player Ben Kane, who, as part of his Bar Mitzvah project, organized an additional fundraising concert this year.

If your school might be interested in starting a marimba program, check out Dave and Scott’s book, entitled High Sticking, which was released under Beatin’Path Publications!